No Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest final. His Royal Highness Daniel? Bukowskis robbed. More Swedish than Spanish.

No Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest final
Swedish singer Anna Bergendahl failed to reach the final in the Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place in Norway this year. She was knocked out in the semi final. Despite a strong performance and good staging of the song, the entry that many in the press center had picked as a possible winner (and the one the Eurovision Research Network said would be the best winner for the competition’s credibility), Bergendahl was not one of the ten qualifiers to continue to the final. To describe her as disappointed would be an understatement. “What did I do wrong?” she asked after the loss. “I’m very sad and upset. We’ve talked about what just happened, and I needed to spend a long time in the dressing room. We’ve put our soul into this.” Bergendahl’s song “This is my life” was to be the starting point of her international career, but those plans were crushed in front of millions of TV viewers following the live broadcast. It’s the first time Sweden is not competing in a Eurovision Song Contest Final. “I had high hopes, but it didn’t work tonight,” Bergendahl said, and added that she still feels her try at the contest might be good for her career. Swedish newspapers show the outrage most Swedes felt at failing to pass the semi finals.
Listen to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zg68EZ7aAU

His Royal Highness Daniel?
You read it right: Crown Princess Victoria’s fiancé Daniel Westling could be granted the title His Royal Highness, according to reports. It has already been announced that Westling will be known as Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland, but now King Carl Gustaf is considering whether to bestow the HRH title, according to SVT. The rank of Royal Highness would be the king’s personal gift to his son-in-law – and what a gift! “Daniel’s title is being discussed, although from what I have heard nothing has been decided yet,” said Anette Wallner from the Royal Court. The final decision on the title will be announced on Sunday, she added. Westling will formally receive any title on his wedding day, 19th June. Raising Daniel to the rank of HRH would give him the same status as other senior members of the Royal Family such as Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine and Princess Lilian. Other members of the family, such as the king’s sisters, Princesses Margaretha, Desirée and Christina, lost the rank after marrying commoners. There is no recent precedent in Sweden for the king to follow when deciding Daniel’s title, as Crown Princess Victoria is set to be the country’s first reigning queen since Ulrika Eleonora in the 18th century. But in other European monarchies, husbands of queens or female heirs to the throne have been granted the style HRH, such as in the case of Prince Henrik of Denmark or Britain’s Prince Phillip. Magdalena Ribbing, etiquette expert for the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, said a decision to grant the title would mean that Daniel would achieve the same rank as the Crown Princess.

Bukowskis robbed
The Stockholm auctioneer firm Bukowskis has been robbed, and the robbers might have carried away items for a worth of 12 million SEK ($1,534,838.16). Says Björn Engström, press spokesman at the Stockholm police: “Three men walked in, armed with fire arms. Shortly after they came out, ran towards a parked car and disappeared. When we talked to the staff we learnt that no one was physically injured.” There are many witnesses, both inside the premises and outside. Many people have also seen the vehicle the robbers used to escape. The car was a rental car, rented in April by a person with a false identity. The theft of the car was reported to the police already a month ago when the firm realized the car was not going to be returned. At the moment no one has been arrested but the police believe there are good chances that they will solve the case.

More Swedish than Spanish
During lessons in Spanish, French, and German what you hear most is… Swedish. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen) is not satisfied and is criticizing Swedish students’ possibilities learning a new language. The Inspectorate examined 40 compulsory schools and what they found is that in many cases, students in grades 6-9 often quit studying modern languages – and often to teachers’ relief. But instead of these defections, schools ought to analyze how they can improve language lessons to make them more inspiring, the Inspectorate suggests.

Anna Bergendahl, the Swedish contender, did not pass the semi-finals and has thus lost her chance at winning this year's Eurovision Song Contest. It's the first time in history that Sweden is not in the final.

Stockholm City asked Swedish poets to compose loving hymns in honor of Victoria and Daniel's wedding. No such luck. Few poets were inspired by the theme, and thus the project was abandoned. Instead many poets have published anti-royal poems in the magazine Re:public. In England the poet laureate, appointed by the government, is the official poet of the monarch. No such title exists in Sweden. Above "The Inspiration of the Poet" by Poussin.